A familiar theme lied within UVA’s double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech last month. After a great first half of defense, the Cavaliers surrendered 58% shooting to the Hokies and subsequently let a 14-point halftime advantage fall by the wayside. Losses at Syracuse and Villanova shared similar storylines.

Offensively, with no consistent inside presence to look to for scoring, the Cavaliers rely heavily on making outside shots to be successful. As we have seen recently, sometimes those shots just aren’t falling. Of course there are areas Virginia can improve upon. Free throw shooting, which cost the Hoos big-time in losses to Virginia Tech and Miami, comes to mind.

Knowing this team’s margin for error is low, though, the Cavaliers’ defensive-minded head coach has focused on improving the Pack Line defense in the final weeks before postseason play.

“We made a commitment about three or two weeks ago to be a better defensive team by the end of the year,” Coach Tony Bennett said. “We just have to be better with our slides, tighter in our gaps, and we’re committing to that. We have to stay in games and stay attached.”

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